Skip to content
Linespedia

To Mr. H. Lawes on His Airs

By John Milton

Topics: classic

Harry, whose tuneful and well-measured song     First taught our English music how to span     Words with just note and accent, not to scan     With Midas ears, committing short and long,     Thy worth and skill exempts thee from the throng,     With praise enough for Envy to look wan;     To after age thou shalt be writ the man     That with smooth air couldst humour best our tongue.     Thou honourst Verse, and Verse must lend her wing     To honour thee, the priest of Phbus quire,     That tunest their happiest lines in hymn or story.     Dante shall give Fame leave to set thee higher     Than his Casella, whom he wooed to sing,     Met in the milder shades of Purgatory.

AI analysis available. Enable JavaScript to interact.

About this line

"Harry, whose tuneful and well-measured song..."

"To Mr. H. Lawes on His Airs" is a quintessential example of John Milton's signature style... ### Why We Love This Line At Linespedia, we believe that poetry is the ultimate sanctuary for the soul...

Attribution & Rights

Author:John Milton

"Harry, whose tuneful and well-measured song..." by John Milton

For usage rights, copyright concerns, or to report an issue with this content, please visit our Copyright & Report page.

Related lines

"My lids with grief were tumid yet,     And still my sullied cheek was wet     With briny dews profusely shed     For venerable Winton dead,2"

"Thus they in lowliest plight repentant stood     Praying, for from the Mercie-seat above     Prevenient Grace descending had removd     The st"

"Hail native Language, that by sinews weak     Didst move my first endeavouring tongue to speak,     And mad'st imperfect words with childish tri"

"Angelus unicuique suus (sic credite gentes) Obtigit aethereis ales ab ordinibus. Quid mirum? Leonora tibi si gloria major, Nam tua praesentem vox sona"

"Here morning in the ploughman's songs is met     Ere yet one footstep shows in all the sky,     And twilight in the east, a doubt as yet,     S"

"The Text is taken from Percy's Reliques (1765), vol. i. p. 71, 'given from two MS. copies, transmitted from Scotland.' Herd had a very similar bal"

John Milton

About John Milton

John Milton (1608–1674) was an English poet best known for "Paradise Lost" (1667), an epic poem retelling the biblical story of the Fall of Man. He also wrote "Paradise Regained," "Samson Agonistes," and the pastoral elegy "Lycidas," and is considered the greatest English epic poet.

Full Bibliography
Continue Reading

"My lids with grief were tumid yet,     And still m..."

Weekly Poetic Insight

Join our literary Sanctuary

Get the most inspiring lines, poetic analysis, and secret shayaris delivered to your inbox every Sunday.